All seven councils in the North West Region Waste Management Group (NWRWMG) have now agreed to approve the SBS Waste Partnership of waste management firm Shanks, waste and civil engineering company Brickkiln and construction company Sisk as the preferred bidder for the 25-year deal.
The group – which is made up of Ballymoney borough council, Coleraine borough council, Derry city council, Limavady borough council, Magherafelt district council, Moyle district council and Strabane district council – covers an area which currently generates around 200,000 tonnes of waste a year.
The councils decision follows a period of consideration after the Groups joint committee recommended the SBS Waste Partnership as the preferred bidder in December 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story).
According to NWRWMG, the SBS Waste Partnership will now enter a period of fine tuning with the councils in preparation for the final signature of the contract, which involves the development of a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) and gasification plant in Derry.
The consortium already has planning permission for the MBT and gasification facility at Brickkilns Enviropark at Electra Road in Maydown, which will be capable of handling 140,000 tonnes of waste a year and generating 30 GW of energy for the grid.
‘This is one of Northern Irelands largest ever procurement exercises and I am delighted that the north-west is on course to become the Provinces most environmentally friendly region in the area of waste management’
Councillor Evelyne Robinson, chair of the NWRWMGs joint committee
The MBT removes recyclable waste, with the remainder 70,000 tonnes per year then treated through in-vessel composting or bio-drying for energy recovery in the gasification plant.
The group of councils expects the proposed facilities to boost current recycling rates by 6% as well as saving the equivalent of 8,000 tonnes of CO2 compared to landfilling. The development will also create 200 jobs during construction and 40 full-time posts once fully operational.
Pending the signature of the contract with SBS Waste Partnership and the award of an operating licence for the consortium, it is expected that the first of the facilities will become operational in 2015 with commissioning of the full plant by 2016.
Procurement
Councillor Evelyne Robinson, chair of the NWRWMGs joint committee, said: The proposed new facilities will maximise recycling rates, improve the environment and generate enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of 6,000 homes annually.
She said the proposed facilities would ensure that ratepayers would avoid potential EU fines for failing to meet 2020 targets to divert waste from landfill.
She added: This is one of Northern Irelands largest ever procurement exercises and I am delighted that the north-west is on course to become the Provinces most environmentally friendly region in the area of waste management.
In November 2010, the SBS Waste Partnership was shortlisted for the contract alongside Greenstar Holdings Ltd (see letsrecycle.com story). At that point, United Utilities rather than Shanks was involved in the consortium, but Shanks acquired the assets of the company in October 2010.
Tommy McGlinchey, managing director of Brickkiln Waste Ltd, said: SBS Waste Partnership is pleased to have been selected as preferred bidder to help the councils of the NWRWMG make more from waste and to assist the group in meeting their diversion of waste from landfill obligation.
Much work remains to be done to deliver our approved and tested solution, and we look forward to working closely with NWRWMG in the coming weeks and months to move the project forward.
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